NASDAQ Futures are down 2 with -1 Fair Value, S&P Futures are flat with 0 Fair Value and Dow Futures are up 2 as earnings season ticks up on this busy Thursday of economic data. Futures were weak in early morning and took a big tumble after 2am until reversing course at 4am and have recovered to nearly even as we await the open.

Asian markets closed up today. China went up 0.51%, Hong Kong gained 0.9% and Japan led the advance, up 3.23%. European markets are up today. The UK is currently up 0.03%, Germany is up 0.26% and France is up 0.13%.

Commodities are mixed this morning. Oil is up 0.1%, natural gas is down 0.98% and gold is down 0.54%. Unleaded gas is up 0.14% and heating oil is up 0.38%. Metals are down. Meat is down. Coffee is up and cocoa, cotton, corn, wheat and soybeans are down.

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) announced Q1 earnings this morning with an 18 % profit drop on weak trading unit and is down nearly 1%. BlackRock, Inc. (BLK) is down over 1% after reporting a Q1 earnings miss and a 20% fall in profit. Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) reported Q1 earnings with a 3 cent beat and 27% rise in profits and is up over 2% in pre-market. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSM) announced Q1 earnings with a beat of 1 cent but guided Q2 below expectations and is down nearly 4.5%. Unilever Plc (UL) announced Q1 earnings this morning with a 2% drop in sales but met estimates and is up nearly 1%. Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) reported Q1 earnings with a 7% drop in profit due to bad loan provisions and is down nearly 1% in pre-market.

AAPL ran through fields of green with blue skies overhead and just a hint of a clouds yesterday, gaining 1.45% on moderate volume. AAPL opened at 111 to moderate volume and quickly set a low of 110.80 before running up towards 112 within an hour on moderate volume and pausing briefly in late morning before crossing 112 before lunchtime. AAPL spent the remainder of the day around 112 on low volume and pressed slightly higher in late afternoon, setting a high of 112.34 at 3:34pm on mild volume before dipping back towards 112 in the final 30 minutes. AAPL ended the day up 1.6 at 112.04. AAPL gained an additional 9 cents in after-hours to 112.13.

This morning in pre-market, AAPL opened down in conjunction with Futures and gravitated toward the mid-111 area with an move to upper-111 later in the morning that ended in a dip to 111.13 and bounce back to a slightly lower mid-111 area than earlier. AAPL is currently down 55 cents at 111.49 as we approach the open.